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BAT Q3 earnings up 10% to RM241mil, declares 78 sen dividend
KUALA LUMPUR: British American Tobacco Bhd’s earnings in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2014 rose 9.9% to RM241.1mil from RM219.3mil in the same period a year earlier, as revenue improved 3.3% to RM1.209bil from RM1.171bil.
The company declared a tax-exempt dividend of 78 sen per share, 10 sen more than previously, amounting to a payout of RM222.7mil, payable on Nov 3, 2014.
BAT earned 84 sen per share in the quarter, compared to 76.8 sen in the corresponding quarter last year.
In the three quarters so far of the current financial year, earnings came to RM714.6mil – up 12.6% from the RM634.3mil previously. This was on revenue of RM3.59bil – an improvement of 4.9% from the RM3.423bil previously.
BAT said manufacturing volume for year-to-date to September saw a fall of 12.6% from a year ago. Nonetheless, revenue in the period improved due to the cumulative effects of the price increase in June 2013 and the September 2013 excise-led price increase.
As for earnings, which climbed 12.6%, it said this was due to the price increases mentioned earlier, as well as the absence of non-recurring leaf restructuring expenses registered in 2013, plus the implementation of productivity savings.
On its prospects in the near term, the company said it remained concerned about the impact of the illegal cigarette trade, even though the Royal Malaysian Customs had taken actions that had proven effective. The share of illegal cigarettes went down to 35.8% in 2014 from 38.9% in Q4 2013.
“The performance of the company in 2014 will continue to be dependent on the effectiveness and sustainability of enforcement activities,” BAT said.
Source: The Star